I wanted us to be off by around 9am but I had a lot of blogging to catch up on and we also had to stop and buy groceries – at a place called Foodland, just like at home - for our upcoming days of driving and camping. So, with our red Suzuki Kizashi Thrifty rental from Adelaide, we hit the road at 12pm, knowing full well that we would be hitting our campsite after dark with our late start. Oh well.
Nick was a champ and drove the full seven hours! Most of the drive, which took us Southeast from Adelaide toward Melbourne, reminded me of the Bay Area in California, with green hills and scattered groves of trees. As we drove on, we did pass rows and rows of trees all perfectly aligned as if grown for timber. It was interesting to look down these dark lanes between the trees and I had an urge to go running through them, though I imagine it’d actually be a bit creepy in there.
A few things of note: (1) I was surprised at how modern and accommodating the drive was. Not that I expected European standards but I was very surprised, and gladly so, at the availability of public restrooms along the drive, free of charge and well-marked along the way. Wow, thank you! (2) I was happy with how well Nick adjusted to the driving conditions. For whatever reason, there is a tendency when learning to drive on the left to drive a little too far to the left and have your left wheels on the line. After a while, however, Nick was able to adjust and get us straightened out. Now he is worried about going home and getting in an accident driving on the left! (3) Apparently, drowsy driving is a real problem along the road we traveled. There was sign after sign reading, “Drowsy Drivers Die!” Wow! They had other signs too, “Sore eyes?” and “15 minute nap could save your life,” and “Can’t concentrate?” a bunch of others. It got humorous with how frequent they were. Lucky for us, Nick was alert the whole time.
We only stopped for gas, to get some dinner, and to play on a playground. At all the little restrooms stops were parks or playgrounds and I come out of the bathroom and saw swings and welcomed the opportunity to do something with my legs. We ended up swinging, teeter-tottering, sliding, and zip line! We also played a game of tic-tac-toe, which Nick won easily. I was never any good at that game.
We got to our campground at Yambuk Lake around 7:15pm and checked in with the resident owners there. It was dark, as expected, so we set up camp and cuddled up to ward off the cold, knowing tomorrow would be a big more eventful as we started our journey down the Great Ocean Road!
Pictures:
We were laughing at this tiny little van on the road. What the heck?
Here is the line of trees that went on and on...
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